The first time we noticed there was wild garlic and chives growing abundantly on our homestead was the first time the orchard was mowed. I'm no stranger to wild chives. We had them growing up "in the country". However, I'd never seen garlic growing before. In addition to that, it looks very much like some of the native wild grasses that grow here. So when the first mowing occurred, wafting the savory aroma of the garlic, I went on a quest.

Once I found where the smell was emanating from, I grabbed a shovel to dig up a small section. Sure enough, there it was. I was not fond of where it was growing. This is wild purple garlic, although I do wonder if the previous owner intentionally planted it there because it's in a swale beside the apple trees in the orchard. I've read garlic is a pest deterrent, which was why I thought maybe it was planted there on purpose.

The reason I want to move it is because it's crowded out easily by the other plants. They are not known to get as large as the store bought varieties, anyway, but certainly don't get big when they are competing for the sun, water, and nutrients. Needless to say, that patch has been partially mowed over. That first year through to this spring it's stayed in that spot. Last year I collected the seed bulbs from the scapes, but did not dig up any garlic.

When scapes grow out they are tall thin stiff shoots the garlic sends up which is where the flower forms. They often form a loop at the top where the garlic flower is. When the flower opens, that's where the seed bulbs come from. They are called bulbils and look like little miniature onion sets, about 2-5 mm big. These fall to the ground in late summer to reemerge in the fall, before going dormant for the winter. If you'd like to learn more about them, this has some good information.

Finally this year I made it a point to dig some garlic up after it came out of dormancy to see if I could transplant it. I also planted some of those bulbils a couple of weeks ago, mostly to see how viable they are. They are growing great, even though it's not really the ideal time to be growing them with the heat we are having. All together, last year I collected around 150 bulbils.

Now I can plant those this fall in a more permanent garlic location. From bulbils it will take a few seasons to get good sized heads of garlic. What's great is they are a perennial. Once established in their new home, they will grow back every year with minimal, if any, work.

This post will focus on digging up and transplanting the wild purple garlic and also some of the wild garlic chives.

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I used a spade to dig up sections of both wild purple garlic and chives. I used the wheelbarrow to move it. The garlic was lose from soil but I left the chives in blocks of soil.

You can see here how the garlic looks very similar to the grass. After carefully looking I was able to identify it. These are a couple of the garlic plants I transplanted.

Here is another angle. The lighter colored growth in the center right of picture is the garlic.

I also wanted to try transplanting wild chives because I have never been successful starting them from seed. Spoiler alert...These didn't make it either.

Here is a chunk of garlic before I separated them out. Wait, what's that I see?

Why, it's an earthworm!!! Hi little fella! He got put in the straw bale where the garlic was planted.

Last year's straw bale refreshed with compost and some coconut coir, ready for planting.

Holes made, garlic laid out where each would be planted.

All in, I transplanted about 50 garlic starts.

There was only one of the straw bales mulched with straw and leaves. The others I left bare. Mostly because of laziness, but also because I wanted to see which grew better.

Here is the straw bale I did of the wild chive blocks, which I did mulch with straw.

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ALL IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHT 2018 BY ME, @phedizzle. Hope you enjoyed them!

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Really looking forward to finding a permanent home for the super tasty and useful plant. I will add updates of how this experiment went soon. Until then...If you enjoyed this, please consider upvoting, resteeming, commenting, and following. Until the next post, take care.

Here are previous posts of mine:

STORIES:

BAREFOOT IN THE BOONIES: EXPOSING MY ROOTS (introduction post)
BAREFOOT IN THE BOONIES: Chapter 1
BAREFOOT IN THE BOONIES: FAMILY OWNED: Chapter 1 Section 2
BAREFOOT IN THE BOONIES: ABANDONED BASEMENT: Chapter 1 Section 2

2011 GARDEN:

2011: DESIGN AND BUILD
2011 BACKYARD TRELLIS, PERIMETER, & VOLUNTEER
2011 TIRE PORTION OF THE GARDEN
2011 BRASSICAS-TIRE GARDEN
2011 DWARF ORCHARD

RECIPES:

SANTA DELIVERED SHROOMS-SHITAKE OYSTER SCRAMBLE
SWEET CINNAMON POPCORN
MOCK ALMOND JOY--CHEAPER AND HEALTHIER
HANGRY TERIYAKI
RASHES--WHY I SWITCHED TO THIS COMMON DIY LAUNDRY SOAP AND HOW I MAKE IT
SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH FORAGED FINDS: FIRST FOOD FORAGE OF 2018

POEMS:

WATCHING THE SPRING WAKE UP
SHE IS DYING
WEEPING WILLOW

PLANTS AND ANIMALS-EDUCATIONAL:

GRASS IS OUR FRIEND
LITTLE BLUESTEM--BENEFICIAL AND BEAUTIFUL
BEHOLD THE BEAUTY OF THE FALSE INDIGO BUSH

WALK ALONG WITH ME:

WALK ALONG WITH ME 1
WALK ALONG WITH ME 2--WINTER 2017/2018

2018:

WILD TURKEY TAIL AND REISHI MUSHROOMS
HUGELKULTUR BED STARTED BUT THERE IS A LOGISTICAL OBSTACLE.
2018 CURRENT HAPPENINGS: FOOD FOREST EXPANSION
WILD EDIBLES AROUND THE HOMESTEAD
GRANNY SMITH APPLE FINALLY GOT SOME LOVE
PICKED MY FIRST PINT OF WILD NATIVE BLACK RASPBERRIES

CONTESTS/REVIEWS

Chronic and Coffee MSP Review--25 SBD contest for the best MSPWAVES Radio Reviews
VOICES FROM THE MOUNTAINS Review--25 SBD contest for the best MSPWAVES Radio Reviews

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(Created by @bembelmaniac)

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(Created by @soulturtle)

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So come say hello in the following Discord chat rooms:

#homesteadersonline: https://discord.gg/VKCrWsS
@qurator: https://discord.gg/pJtWp57M
#minnowsupport & #PAL: https://discord.gg/B4ZjGBa